Category: Denis Villeneuve (Page 3 of 5)

Fireside Chats: ‘Prisoners’

September 20, 2017 / Taylor Gaines

For each movie in the “Denis 2049” series, Taylor and Sam will sit down and bounce some thoughts off each other, off-mic. Their brilliant minds will unleash many words. Make of them what you will. This time: “Prisoners.”

Taylor: Okay, let’s think about this. How could we possibly describe what it’s like to go through the physically, mentally, emotionally and existentially draining experience that is watching “Prisoners”?

Hmm…

So, imagine you’re lying on a cold tile floor. You’re basically naked. It’s wintertime. Every minute seems colder than the one before. Then, someone begins placing ice cubes on your body. One on a toe, one on an arm, one on your face. On and on until you feel like your body may never be able to warm back up ever again.

That’s what “Prisoners” feels like to me. With each scene, I get colder and colder and wonder whether I’ll be able to love or feel anything ever again.

And yet.

There is something very compelling and human about “Prisoners.” Something that keeps me glued to my seat and makes me want to revisit the movie time and again. What the hell is that something, Sam? I can’t figure it out.

Sam: I took an ice bath once to break a fever. I realize now that I could’ve just watched “Prisoners.” It’s chilling and stressful and bleak and depressing and ice-mother-freakin’ cold, but you know what, Taylor?

It’s Denis’ most fun movie. That’s why I keep going back to it.

Sure, if you go into this movie expecting a feel-good romp with Paul Dano driving around in an RV and hanging out with some kids, you’re gonna be disappointed. But Dillenueve’s ethical rollercoaster ends up making me more excited from the ride than sick from it.

This movie could have gone in a couple directions with a premise this dark when you think about it. It could have taken kidnapping and put it in its cold realism that it’s inexplicable and often unsolved, but instead, it added resolution and twists and drama. It hit the same fork in the road that “Polytechnique” did and took the direction of snakes and puzzles instead of harsh reality. I’m grateful for that because I don’t think I could sit through a black-and-white docudrama about Hugh Jackman never finding his kid. It would be too much.

I like the imagery you present about how chilling this movie is, but my question is this. What’s the coldest part?

Some nominations (feel free to add your own):

The climate in upstate Pennsylvania
The sudden realization that your child is missing
Gyllenhaal’s haircut
Terrence Howard on the trumpet

Taylor: Yeah, you forgot a few.

The kids going outside without their jacket (pretty cold)
Gyllenhaal outside (looked cold)
The window left open while Mom tries to sleep (probably cold)
Drinking Holly Hunter’s poison juice as your kid slowly dies somewhere nearby (the coldest)

For real, though, Terrence Howard is rough on the trumpet. It really shattered my “Empire”-based reality to see Lucius Lyon hop on the trumpet and sound terrible. My whole world makes no sense now. I don’t know what to believe.

The thing I keep thinking about after watching this movie again – this was the second time I’ve seen it – is how well-calibrated it is. The whole thing holds together so perfectly while also opening up so many doors in such compelling, thoughtful ways. It gives you so much to think about thematically that I find myself wanting to go back and revisit it again for some reason. (Am I crazy?)

At this point in our series, I’m pretty comfortable saying this is Villeneuve’s best movie. Everything peaked here. And I’m excited for what’s next. I feel like it’s just getting better and better.

I guess you could say I’m … a prisoner to Denis.

Sam: This was Denis’ best and biggest. The gang came out to play. Sure, Terrence Howard might have learned how to hold a trumpet seconds before walking on to the set, but Melissa Leo made me believe that “raging a war against God” is a legitimate character motivation and Maria Bello showed that she could lie on a bed and be sad!

Seriously, this whole thing is so well-calibrated. It knows what to do with its best characters and is able to be puzzling without being too Nolan-y. It squeezes in a mystery thriller and an after-school special into a small two-and-a-half-hour window. Even Denis’ on-the-nose tendencies worked this time. Jackman talking to his kid about being prepared for anything minutes before “anything” happens felt more chilling and ominous than obvious and annoying. Gyllenhaal’s character sitting alone in a Chinese restaurant when it is clearly Christmas talking about how he needs a personal life was overt but felt expedient and necessary to the story.

I’m a fan of this one.

Who won this movie, Taylor? Is it one of the heavyweights? Is it the police chief who never leaves his desk or stands up? Is it actually just a three-horse race between Jackman, Gyllenhaal and Dano?

Taylor: There’s no such thing as winning in a movie like “Prisoners” really. I’d say simply surviving is winning.

So…. I guess everybody other than Melissa Leo and that creepy guy who painted the interrogation room walls with his brains won? I don’t know. Who knows?

Here’s what I know: This movie is super good. That’s a fact.

However, I recently saw a clickbaiter (I fell for it, obviously) who put out a ranking of all of Denis Villeneuve’s movies. This “critic” had “Prisoners” ranked seventh. Seventh! I won’t dignify these rankings or this author with a name or a link, but SEVENTH! THEY HAD “PRISONERS” SEVENTH!!!

This is such an obnoxiously bad opinion that I don’t even know where to start. Maybe he just wanted people to think, “Wow, what a bold take! He must know something I don’t!” If I was younger, I might have fallen for this, but facts are facts. If you think “Prisoners” is Denis’ seventh-best movie, you should not be allowed into the theater for “Blade Runner 2049.”

/end of rant

Sam: If Melissa Leo and her whack-ass husband kidnapped me, pumped me with some psychedelic Welch’s grape juice, put me in a basement, and said, “Here you go, finish this book of puzzles and you can go home,” and the last page said, “Explain how ‘Prisoners’ is Denis’ seventh-best movie,” I’d happily rot under that 1972 Chevy Vega.

And that’s really what “Prisoners” is about, isn’t it?

Taylor: Look, this movie is about as hard to talk about as it is to watch. So I’m done here. Be nice to your puppies, and don’t steal children’s clothing.

I think I’m going to lie down for a while.

Sam: Denis 2049 Power Rankings after five:

“Prisoners”
“Polytechnique”
“Incendies”
“Aug. 32^nd”
“Maelstrom”

Next up: “Enemy.”

Denis 2049: ‘Prisoners’

September 19, 2017 / Taylor Gaines

Taylor Gaines is joined by Sam Hensel for Part Five of the official Denis Villeneuve podcast. On this episode, they break down Villeneuve’s most well-known film, “Prisoners,” and talk about its complexity, morality, and where it fits in the Villenouvre.

Next time: “Enemy”

You can find all of our previous podcasts on our website, OnTheIslandPodcast.com and on iTunes. Subscribe, rate, and review!

As always, thanks to Levi Bradford for the theme song. You can find his music at poblano.bandcamp.com.

Find the companion written piece here.

(Now On The Island!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

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Fireside Chats: ‘Incendies’

September 15, 2017 / Taylor Gaines

Taylor: This is a movie about math.

I have questions about this movie’s math.

How could the mother have had a son that could be old enough by the time she was in prison to be her torturer and also her son? How many years pass during this movie? This is confusing and unclear (and I think I don’t want to spend too much time thinking about it because it’s disgusting).

Also, can 1 + 1 = 1? Can it??

We both studied majors in college – journalism, telecommunications – that dealt with math super often, so I feel like we should be experts on this subject.

What say you? How do you even begin to unpack this?

Sam: I have only one theory about how one plus one could equal one.

Theory One:

In a situation in which the word “half” is presupposed or is unnecessary to clarify. For instance, if I wake up and there’s half of a dead fish in my bedroom and he’s narrating a movie to me, I’m gonna run out of the room screaming, “Help! Help! Someone help me, there is a fish in my room!” I don’t think it would add to anyone’s understanding if I said, “There’s half a fish in my room.” That would be more information than necessary. Then suppose that later on in this same scenario, let’s say the next day, I awoke and the other half of the fish was sitting on my desk. I would be like, “WHAT IS GOING ON, another fish??” when in reality, it comes from the same fish. It would be a fish in my room, then a fish in my room, with the total equaling one fish.

Then there’s Theory One:

If I sit down for dinner and eat an entire meal’s worth of food, decide I’m still hungry, and eat another meal’s worth of food, I’m not gonna say I had supper twice. It’ll just be one big meal. One meal plus one meal is just one meal.

So take Theory One and add it to Theory One, and you’re left with just one conclusion:

Math is a fantastic tapestry of mystery in which nothing is definite and almost everything is subjective.

What’s not fantastic – and pretty illegal – is incest. I feel like if you squint, you can actually see a hint of incest in this movie. Did you catch a little interfamilial relation in this?

Taylor: If by squint you mean, “become faced with the hard, cold reality of a horrifying world in which a war-torn country leaves outspoken women behind bars and young boys as hardened war criminals, forcing you to shield your eyes from the horror because nothing makes sense and everything you thought you knew was wrong” then yeah. I noticed.

Unless you’re referring to the brother and sister being incestual in their own way. Does the chain actually remain unbroken? Is the cycle undefeated? Evidence!

They fight at the beginning. (I hear couples do that.)
They sit on a bed together at one point. (I was always taught you should never be in the same room as a girl, so.)
It runs in the family. (Is that how this works?)
I don’t feel like doing this anymore and it makes me feel gross, and if it makes me feel gross, it must be true.

What were we talking about?

Oh, Villeneuve. I wanted to bring up something during this chat: The way that he ends his movies.

It seems to me that, contrary to the majority of the running time in his movies, Villy is actually an optimist. Each movie so far (outside of maybe “August 32nd”) is crushingly depressing and horrifying in one way or another up until pretty much the last second. I’m sure we’ll talk more about this is we continue working through his IMDb page, but I find this fascinating.

Is this an insight into his mind? What do you think Villeneuve’s worldview is?

Sam: He is rather dour, I have to say. So far, we’ve seen:

A movie in which a man is friend-zoned literally to death
A woman murdering not just a fish but a fisherman
A school shooting
Incest, child killing, tattoos

But you’re right! Somehow, he brings it around each time. I do believe this is an insight into Dilly’s mind.

You can see it visually in every movie. Just look at the way he colors his films. The first, “August 32nd,” is his lightest movie. It pops with greens and bright yellows, while “Polytechnique,” his most serious, is bleak and colorless. Everything in between uses deep blacks and dark darks that show how low the lows are going to be and how much the tragedy is going to really hurt. He mixes all of that with solid, rich, light, warm colors that feel hopeful and comfortable.

It represents what he thinks about what he’s portraying. He believes, I think, that the world is dark and terrible, but not without hope, love and people fighting break cycles of anger and the systems that oppress them. Or, I don’t know, maybe he’s just into incest.

Taylor: I think this is a really good point. He often presents worlds that make no sense, that would make anyone question their existence and purpose and whether anything really matters. By the end, though, nearly without fail, he presents them with a way forward. A way to keep going. It may not be definitive or solve everything (or anything!), but it shows some optimism. And that gives me some hope, too.

You know what else gives me hope? That the rest of Villy’s movies are in my native tongue! It’s time for all English, all the time (except for Sicario probably)! Speak American, baby!

Sam: Yooooo, we’re done with French movies! I hate to say it, but I think I’m ready to return to the English language and the big-budget, shallow American works it spawns. Time for big explosions and blockbusters. What light, raunchy 88-minute American film is our reward for wallowing through 10 hours of these painful and taxing stories?

Oh.

“Prisoners.”

Villeneuve 2049 Power Rankings:

1. “Polytechnique”

2. “Incendies”

— Gap —

3. “August 32nd”

4. “Maelstrom”

Next up: “Prisoners.”

Denis 2049: ‘Incendies’

September 13, 2017 / Taylor Gaines

Taylor Gaines is joined by Sam Hensel for the fourth episode of the Denis 2049 series. This time, they talk about “Incendies,” the story of twins finding the truth about their mother’s past. They cover everything, including Denis’ gradual improvement, his sensitivity to violence and the bizarre twist.

Next time: “Prisoners”

You can find all of our previous podcasts on our website, OnTheIslandPodcast.com and on iTunes. Subscribe, rate, and review!

As always, thanks to Levi Bradford for the theme song. You can find his music at poblano.bandcamp.com.

Find the companion written piece here.

(Now On The Island!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Fireside Chats: ‘Polytechnique’

September 8, 2017 / Taylor Gaines

Taylor: It’s not often that I have to actually put my hand over my heart to make sure it’s still beating. Typically, it’s something I trust is happening by the simple fact that I’m still walking around. When it comes to movies, I typically don’t have big reactions, either. It’s more of an “ooh, ahh” type of excitement when something tense is happening than any kind of physical reaction. I’d call it an … intellectual reaction, I guess.

In “Polytechnique,” though, I felt physically sick. I was straight-up terrified watching this movie. And I’m not saying that to try to reduce this movie to some kind of cheap thriller or horror movie. This movie is horrifying because of a realistic, eyes-wide-open portrayal of what it looks like when pure evil intrudes onto normal life.

As we discussed at length on the podcast, “Polytechnique” tells the story of a 1989 school shooting that took place on a college campus in Montreal. And as Villeneuve’s camera watched the killer wander the halls of the school, a sensation came over me that is hard to describe. I felt like I was witnessing something impossible, the act of witnessing it ensuring that I couldn’t deny what was happening right in front of me. A contradiction that I can’t justify but won’t back down from. It was surreal. I don’t think I’ve ever been so compelled and disturbed and haunted by a movie all at once.

Sam: “Polytechnique” is one of those movies – “Schindler’s List,” “Manchester by the Sea,” Villeneuve’s own “Prisoners” – that gladly asks you to pay money to get punched in the throat. It hurts to watch this movie. It’s gut-wrenching and brutal and the longest 80-minute movie I’ve ever seen.

I loved it.

It never tries to be theatrical or jumpy for the sake of fear. Villeneuve puts this story out in the cold light of day, and by mere exposure to the action, we feel every gun shot. That’s more frightening than anything. It takes something dark and unthinkable and puts it in the midst of complete normalcy – the exact place that tragedy really happens.

Taylor: I want to go on an insane tangent or make a dumb joke or change the subject randomly as I’m wont to do in these Fireside Chats, but this movie feels too serious and important to do that.

Keep talking smart about it.

Sam: Okay, try this.

The weird thing about “Polytechnique” is that, when you place someone so heinous among the everyday, he blends in. One of the most deeply affecting sequences is the intercutting series of shots between the killer and the protagonist, Valérie, as they get ready for their day in the morning. Before shots are fired, they’re both leading plain, indistinguishable lives. They’re both messy, somewhat alone, and essentially “normal.” The interwoven scenes have a two-sided effect where you feel like, “Wow, a killer could come from anywhere and be anyone,” but also, “Even the most terrible people are still just … people.”

Villeneuve could have easily made the killer a faceless, pitiless evil, but he chose to make things more complicated. He showed someone who was purely sexist and hellbent on exterminating women, and then had him write an apology letter to his mother.

You also see the suffering and stain on the survivors’ lives caused by the killer’s actions. Things are hard for them. Dillenuve is able to show the full width and breadth of a tragedy like this – the way it expands beyond just those on campus that day and affects life writ large – by zooming in with a microscope. He took a huge event that affected many people and focused in on three characters. In doing so, he was able to make something completely universal.

Denis was perfect for this movie. He told the story in a way that shocked and hurt, but it did so with total respect and integrity. It’s one of the best movies I’ll never watch again.

Taylor: Ooh, here’s a tangent. This is a list of eight movies I’ll never watch again (except when I have to for the Denis 2049 series…)

1. “Polytechnique”

Asked and answered.

2. “12 Years A Slave”

This movie is about being a slave for 12 years. I think that’s pretty self-explanatory.

3. “Prisoners”

“Hey, honey, let’s watch this movie that makes us feel what it would be like if our kids were kidnapped by a stranger and we never saw them again. I’ll make some popcorn!”

4. “Boyhood”

This is a feat of filmmaking, but it’s pretty boring in retrospect. I’m glad I saw it because it feels important, but I would like to never see it again.

5. “Lone Survivor”

Too intense.

6. “Foxcatcher”

Too creepy.

7. “Manchester By The Sea”

If you’ve seen this movie, I don’t need to explain myself.

8. “Man of Steel”

This movie is actually terrible, I just want people to know I will leave their home if this movie is ever put in front of my eyes ever again.

Sam: Great list. A-plus. But I would add the movie “Shop Girl.” Saw it on a cruise when I was 11 and got really excited because Steve Martin was in it, but it bored me off the ship.

Taylor: Damn, you probably missed out on a great cruise because of that.

All that being said, “Polytechnique” is easily the best movie we’ve watched so far in this series.

Sam: Easily the best.

The Denis rankings after three movies:

“Polytechnique”

(gap to show how much better I think it is.)

“August 32nd on Earth”
“Maelstrom”

Next up: “Incendies.”